This has dominated monetary policy talk in India, with economists arguing that as the central bank withdraws its monetary stimulus, it needs to move to back to a neutral rate as soon as possible. The central bank Tuesday raised rates for both its key repo and reverse repo rates by a modest 25 basis points.

Gov. Duvvuri Subbarao said Wednesday (when he wasn’t quoting Deng Xiaoping) that he asked his in-house economists what the neutral rate means.

Theoretical economics says the neutral rate is one consistent with an economy’s potential output and low and stable inflation — a sweet spot for the economy.

China’s rise as a global power and its influence on the world economy and geopolity is increasingly on show. But the nation also seems to be a source of inspiration for an unlikely figure – India’s central bank Governor Duvvuri Subbarao.

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